Recover
by Lynyrd Lionheart
Summary: A spell reverts Emma and Hook back to their innocent, youthful selves. When Emma has no memory of being a mother, and Hook doesn't recall ever going to Neverland, can Henry still be saved? Captain Swan/Lieutenant Duckling story in 3 parts.
1. Blue skies fade to a gray sky dawn

**AN: This is my Lieutenant Duckling (sort of) story. I started to write it after 3x05, so it's AU after that. It will be 3 chapters long, and chapter 2 is already written, with chapter 3 in the works. Title and song quotes at the start of the chapter comes from "Recover" by The Eli Young Band.**

**One. Blue skies fade to a gray sky dawn**

Heartache hurts and you can't move on  
Blue skies fade to a gray sky dawn  
Trying to find a place in this town  
Where you don't feel six feet underground  
You're so tired, you're so scared  
Defeated by the troubles you can't repair

Hook had told them about Baelfire.

And didn't that just irritate the hell out of Pan? The pirate was meant to keep it to himself. In the years Captain Hook had spent in Neverland, Pan had come to know the man well. He was selfish. He would sell his own mother's soul, if the prices was right. So why the hell had he played the noble man and told Emma about her lost love not being so lost?

Now, thanks to a successful rescue, Pan was down a piece of very valuable leverage and though things were awkward between the pirate and the saviour, the trust was stronger than ever. The last thing Pan needed was those two coming together. He had the secret to reawakening the waning magic of all the worlds in Henry, but all his plans would be ruined if the power of the saviour's true love managed to make that magic pure. Pan didn't want _pure_. He wanted the latent magic Henry could unleash to be as twisted and vile as he himself had become. He needed to twist Henry, make him a lost boy, in order to do that… but for Henry to remain a lost boy, then the saviour, the woman Henry looked up to and worshipped as a hero, needed to be lost as well.

Those with true love in their corner? They were never lost.

Still, Pan wasn't completely out of ideas. He had one card left to play. One last move to bring an end to the budding romance between Emma and her pirate suitor.

Killian Jones may be meant to be Emma Swan's true love, but not even the saviour could love Captain Hook in his darkest time.

RECOVER

Neal was trying to talk to her again.

Emma knew she should give him a chance to talk to her. To get whatever it is he needed to say to her so badly off his chest… but Emma had a feeling she knew what the issue was. It was the desperate "I love yous" spoken out of desperation and the knowledge of impending loss.

Emma didn't have time to analyze what she felt for her ex-love. Not with Henry missing, and not with Hook shooting her those intimate looks that said all too clearly that he knew how she tasted, and would very much like to do it again.

Emma had been avoiding Hook as well. Mostly because when she looked at him, all she thought about was that _kiss_.

_You can't handle it._

And hadn't she been so damn _cocky_, saying those words? Because she'd pulled him into her, had pressed her lips to his, and then her world had turned upside down. Kissing Killian Jones had been a revelation. When Hook kissed, he _kissed_. He put his whole body into it, he made sure that a girl would think of the imprint of his mouth on her for days afterward.

Emma could attest to that.

So, Emma avoided Hook, because otherwise she was afraid she would go for second helpings, despite her assertion that it was a one-time thing. She avoided Neal, because talking to him meant confronting ten years of pain and anger and a love that she could never quite shake, because that seventeen year old in her had never managed to quite believe the man she loved had been able to let her go so damn _easily_. Neverland wasn't the place to confront the man who had cemented her title as _lost girl_.

"You look tired, Swan," Hook said, falling back to walk next to her as their little group cut their way through the jungle. For the past several days since they had rescued Neal, he had allowed her to have her space, choosing to spend most of his time with David. Emma wasn't entirely sure what had happened between them on their journey to find the sextant, but whatever it was had left the pair with some sort of odd understanding and an even odder friendship.

"My son has been with Pan for over two weeks, and the only contact we've had was a ten second conversation I'm not sure he thinks is real. My ex, who I thought was dead, has been miraculously resurrected, and my parents are entirely too fond of PDA. Yeah, I'm tired, Hook," Emma replied, trying to inject the right amount of irritation into her voice. Sadly, Hook hadn't been lying when he called her an open book, at least to him, and his raised brows told her that he wasn't buying her excuses.

Emma sighed and gave a shrug.

"And maybe Neal wants to have a heart-to-heart I'm pretty sure I don't want to have here," she admitted after a moment.

Hook didn't respond to that for a long moment, and Emma thought that perhaps speaking to the man she had made out with (rather passionately) just a few days prior about the man who had fathered her child was a bad idea.

"He wishes a second chance with you," Hook said after they had walked in silence for several minutes. His voice was neutral, but a quick look at his face showed Emma that, inside, he was in turmoil. "I know how it is, to want a second chance."

Emma had to give the pirate props. His response was very telling; he would not hinder her, should she want to reconcile with Neal, but he also wasn't going to help the other man in his pursuit. What it didn't tell her, however, was if he was going to be pursuing her himself.

And Emma needed to stop thinking about that _kiss_, and about Hook and romance and how very _kissable_ the man looked now. She needed to concentrate on Henry and getting home. Once they got back to Storybrooke, then she could allow herself to worry about her personal life.

"Thank-you," she said to Hook after another few minutes of silent walking.

"What for?" Hook replied, looking genuinely surprised.

"Everything," Emma replied. "For telling me about Neal, for saving David. For getting us here, and helping. It couldn't have been easy. Pan is a little shit. I don't know that I would've offered my help, if I'd been in your shoes. I would have probably tossed over the bean and put as much space between myself and the portal as possible."

"Well, I can't say that my motives were completely selfless," Hook replied, his voice light and easy. "I wasn't lying when I said I fancied you."

"Be serious, Hook," Emma responded with rolled eyes. "A _fancy_ isn't a good reason for risking your life in returning to a place you must hate."

"No," Hook agreed, and while his voice was still light, tension had entered his posture and permeated the air. "It isn't."

Suddenly, the conversation had veered towards topics Emma didn't want to face, in a direction that she wasn't yet ready to go. She had to find Henry, she had to talk to Neal. She couldn't acknowledge this… whatever _this_ was with Hook. Not yet, not here. Neverland brought out the worst in Emma. Any choice she made here would be tainted by her abandonment issues, but her burning desire to once, just once, be enough to make someone _stay_.

But to Hook she was an open book, and the man snapped to attention and tilted his head as if he heard something.

"I think your father may be trying to lead us astray once more. I best take the lead again, if we don't want to be lead into a nasty swamp. It's been a pleasure, as always, Swan. I do hope we might do this again… you know, once you've decided to stop avoiding me."

Hook gave a half bow and a smirk that made his blue eyes sparkle with amusement. He looked so tempting in that moment that Emma almost threw caution to the wind and kissed him again, but before she could act on the wild thought Hook was moving through the forest to catch up to David. She watched him go with a small smirk of her own, a smirk she only seemed able to muster around Hook these days, before she followed him herself.

Behind her, Neal stepped out from behind the tree he had been observing the duo from and frowned after her retreating form.

RECOVER

"It has to hurt a little," Pan said, stepping from his own hiding place. "Watching her watch him. That look on her face… that's a woman who is falling in love."

"She doesn't love Hook," Neal responded quickly and then mentally cursed himself. He _knew_ Pan, he knew the games the boy liked to play. This was just another one. Another way to get under his skin, to try and stop them from finding Henry.

"I said _falling_, Baelfire. She's not there yet… but she will be. Our pirate has her utterly convinced he's a good man. You and I, though? We know better, don't we?"

"_We_ don't know anything," Neal shot back. "It's been three hundred years. Maybe Hook is genuine in this desire he has to be a good guy. I _know_ you like to mess with people's heads and break the bonds between them anyway you can, so his sincerity seems to be more and more real the more _you_ say it isn't."

"Come on, Baelfire. You've seen this act a hundred times before. The man who claims to change, only to turn around and prove it's impossible. You saw it with Hook himself, when he handed you right over to me. You've seen it time and time again with dear old Rumple. But I won't lie, I do have my reasons for wishing the pirate and the saviour separated. I merely thought we could perhaps help on another out, just like old times." Pan shrugged and moved to pull one of his disappearing acts. Neal wanted to let him. He wanted to stand back and watch Pan leave, and continue onto camp… but then he remembered the scene he had stumbled onto. Emma and Hook, looking so damn close.

Neal had seen that same look in Emma's eyes before – ten years ago, and didn't it just wound him that he saw it now when she looked at Hook, when all he saw when she looked at him, the father of her son, was pain?

"Wait," Neal called out before Pan could leave, and he cursed himself for a hundred different kinds of fool and coward for doing this, for not being able to step back and let Emma make her choice. Pan didn't turn around at first, and Neal felt a moment of relief, thinking that the leader of the Lost Boys hadn't heard his shout, but then Pan was in front of him, raising one of those damn eyebrows at him, and Neal found himself saying the words he knew he would regret, because no deal with Pan came without regret.

"What do you have in mind?"

RECOVER

Hook was once again watching Emma when Baelfire returned to camp. Bae paused as he entered the camp, looking at Hook, then following his gaze towards the blonde saviour. His brow furrowed, and Hook immediately averted his eyes, feeling a brief flare of guilt. He knew that it hadn't truly been his fault that the boy had lost his mother. After all, Hook had hardly kidnapped Milah… but that didn't eliminate the fact that simply looking at Bae made him feel a stab of guilt for giving in and taking Milah away from a son who needed her.

Still, Hook wasn't going to give up on Emma simply because Baelfire looked at her and saw the seventeen year old lass he had loved. If Emma eventually chose Bae, then Hook would step back, but until that decision was made, the pirate would be at Swan's side.

Baelfire still stood, watching the saviour. There was an odd expression in his eyes as he took in the blonde; a mix of torment and longing. Hook wondered if the other man was regretting his choice to leave her all those years ago. God knew that if he was in Bae's shoes, regret would be all that filled his mind. Emma was one hell of a woman, and Hook didn't think there was a force in any realm that could make him leave her side as long as she allowed him to be there. Especially not since that kiss. Hook could still taste her on his lips, even days later.

"You still have rum?" Baelfire asked, turning his back on Emma and approaching Hook. "I could use some."

Considering the dark glares and avoidance tactics Bae had been using since his breakout, Hook decided to accept this small olive branch and held his flask to the younger man, who uncapped it and took a long swig. He coughed and Hook could see tears in his eyes, caused by the strength of the alcohol. His surprise at its strength caused him to drop the flask's cap, and he stooped down to grab it up, his expression hidden from Hook for the moment.

"What the hell is in that? Lighter fluid?" Baelfire asked when he straightened once more, offering Hook the flask, lid once more in place.

"Just a particularly potent rum," Hook replied, accepting the flask. "You get used to it, if you drink enough."

"Which I'm sure you have," Bae responded dryly. "Careful. That stuff will destroy your liver."

Hook chuckled at that, enjoying the moment of peace with the man he had once thought could be his family. He opened the flask and held it up to Bae in a toast.

"Look, Hook you should know…" Bae began, but his words trailed off weakly. Hook paused with the flask a few centimetres from his lips.

"I should know what, Bae?" he responded, and mentally winced when the old name fell so easily from his lips. He knew the younger man preferred Neal, these days. He knew he should respect that.

"It's Neal now," Bae, no, _Neal_, said, his voice growing chilly. "And you should know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that Emma is happy. _Everything_."

"I never thought you wouldn't," Hook replied, confused at the resolution in the other man's voice. He once again raised the flask to his lips and took a swig, swallowing it easily. "Not sure why you feel the need to assure me of it now."

"You will," was all Neal said.

Hook opened his mouth to question the odd remark, but Neal was already leaving him. Hook frowned after him. He had never been fond of cryptic remarks, and he trusted them and those who gave them even less in Neverland, where Pan ruled all and did his best to turn ally against ally.

"What was that about?" Emma asked, moving from where she had been watching his interaction with Neal to lean against a tree.

"I thought it was a truce, but I'm not so sure now," Hook replied. "I think he may have been warning me off you, though if he was he used a very roundabout way of doing it."

Emma gave an inelegant snort at that and held out her hand for the flask. Hook, ever the gentleman, set it in her hand with a smirk, which just made her roll her eyes. She opened the top and threw her head back, handling the burn of the rum far better than Neal had.

"Neal has no right to warn anyone off me. He lost it ten years ago. Now, if _I_ tell you to go away, then you'll know it's what should be done."

Hook began to chuckle at that when he felt a burning sensation in his stomach. It radiated outward from there, running along his nerve endings to his arms, his legs, his head. His eyes met Neal's, who was standing just inside the tree line watching him. Hook felt his vision blurring and he wanted to shout at the other man for his underhanded tactics, but then he saw the stricken look on Neal's face, and Hook's eyes darted to his left, where Emma was taking a drink from the flask. Hook tried to reach out to her, to shout a warning or knock the flask away, but his arms were heavy and his tongue was numb.

He felt himself fall forward, darkness taking over. As he fell, he swore he heard Emma shout his name.

"Killian!"

RECOVER

Emma's shout drew Charming and Snow's attention. They came running, only to see Hook collapsed on the ground with Emma kneeling next to his prone form clutching her stomach. Neal was crouched next to her, his expression frantic.

"I'm sorry. God, Emma, I am so, so sorry. I was so stupid. But you weren't supposed to be affected. It was just Hook, but you had some of the rum. God, I'm so sorry."

"What exactly did you do?" Regina demanded, the noise having drawn her out of her tent and to the bodies lying unconscious on the ground. "Well? We can't undo it if don't tell us what you _did_!"

Neal looked at the other three. Charming knew his expression had to be murderous, and he saw Neal's throat work rapidly when they met eyes.

"_Tell her_," Charming hissed, wondering if Snow would be very disappointed if he grabbed his sword and ran it through Neal. Not only had the other man hurt his daughter in the past, but now both she _and_ their best ally were out for the count because Neal had, apparently, done something stupid.

"It was Pan," Neal replied once he managed to drag his eyes away from Charming and swallow down his fear enough to speak. "He came to me, offered me a spell to show a person's true self. Emma wasn't supposed to drink the rum. It was just supposed to be Hook, so I could see if this new leaf of his was real, or if he was just lying to get close to Emma." His gaze spun back to Charming, and there was desperation there now. "You've seen the way he looks at her. You know what he is. Can't you understand why I need to be sure? I don't want her hurt again… not like… not like I hurt her before. She used to be so _open_, so happy and daring. You never saw her back then, but I did. She was hopeful and beautiful, and I know that her losing that is my fault. There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret listening to August… but I couldn't let it happen again. I know what Hook is capable of, I just wanted Emma to see too, before it was too late and she fell completely."

Neal was correct, Charming had seen the way Hook looks at Emma. Hadn't he spent the better part of the journey to Dead Man's Peak threatening the pirate away from her? But he was also the one whose life Hook had saved, and he knew that the other man hadn't expected acknowledgement for the good deed. He had thought what happened on the peak would stay there, but Hook hadn't wanted Emma to lose her father, so he had risked his life anyways, just for her happiness.

"You could have asked _us_," Charming snarled at Neal. "I could have told you the pirate was genuine. And now who knows what will happen? You played right into Pan's hands, and now we're out two members of our search party."

"David," Snow said, her hand grasping onto his shirt to hold him back when he began to get up, everything in him screaming for Neal's blood.

"Just a moment, Mary Margaret. I have a thief to deal with," Charming replied, trying to brush his wife's grip away.

"Charming, just look at your daughter," Regina interrupted with a snap. "This is a little more important."

The prince's eyes snapped to the ground, and for a moment he frowned, not knowing what he was supposed to be seeing. Then it registered.

_Emma looked younger_.

Charming snapped his sight to Hook, and in front of his eyes the other man's hair grew longer, and the Hook that had replaced his left hand fell away revealing a complete limb underneath. They were still dressed the same, Emma in her tank top and Hook in his leather pirate's gear, but there was no mistaking what had happened.

Whatever spell Pan had given Neal had de-aged the pair in front of them.

RECOVER

Emma awoke slowly. She was disoriented and confused when her eyes opened to a canopy of trees rather than the roof of the latest girl's home she had been calling home. What was she doing in a freaking forest? And it looked like a rainforest, at that. Emma couldn't be positive, but she didn't think there were rainforests in the American mid-west.

"They're waking up," called a voice, and Emma managed to fight her way into a sitting position. Hands reached out and helped her steady herself, and she saw that they belonged to a lovely young woman with short black hair, pale skin, and pretty hazel eyes. Those eyes seemed familiar, as if Emma had seen them before, but she couldn't for the life of her remember where.

"Are you alright, Emma?" the woman asked, her hands still resting on Emma's arm. Emma warily moved away from the touch, uncomfortable with this stranger being so familiar with her, no matter how kind she seemed to be.

"How do you know my name?" Emma asked, pushing herself back a foot to get away from the woman. The movement brought her form into contact with something else. Or, rather, _someone_ else, she discovered when she reached back, hoping the object was a weapon, only to come in contact with a firm, warm forearm. "Jesus!"

Emma was left with nowhere to retreat to, so she rotated her body rapidly away from the form behind her, still keeping the dark haired woman in her line of sight. The woman had been joined by two more men, one a handsome blue-eyed blonde, the other a darker haired man, as well as another woman with black hair whose eyes were far colder than the first's. Emma eyed the foursome warily, but her gaze was drawn to the prone form that had been behind her when it gave a low groan.

"Hell, what happened?" the man asked, pushing himself to a sitting position with one hand while the other ran through his shoulder length black hair and came to rest on his forehead. Emma felt her breath catch when the man moved his hand to blink unfocused blue eyes that met hers.

He was the single most beautiful man Emma had ever seen. When their eyes met, he slowly lowered his hand from his face and looked right back. There was intensity to those eyes that took Emma's breath away, and she felt herself blushing, and wanted to hit herself for the response. She was no fainting virgin who couldn't handle a pretty face, but looking at him was like receiving a punch straight to the gut. He took her breath away.

"Hello," he said after a long moment of staring, and he had an accent that was like music to Emma's ears.

"I… uh… hi," she replied. "Are… are you okay?"

"I think so," he responded, and he still hadn't taken his eyes off of her. In fact, Emma didn't even think he realized there was anyone but the two of them in that jungle.

The thought reminded her that she wasn't alone with this handsome stranger, and eyes once again wheeled to the pretty woman and her companions. Seeing her panic, the man's eyes darted to them as well, and he shot to his feet, only to nearly fall again when the rapid movement threw his balance off.

"Easy there, Hook," the blonde man said, and he's at the handsome man's side, holding his arm to steady him. "Catch your bearings. We don't need you to get a concussion or something."

"Who the bloody hell is _Hook_?" he demanded, though he waited long enough to regain his balance before shoving the blonde's hand away. "I don't know who you think you are, but I will tell you that attacking a member of His Majesty's navy is a crime."

"His Majesty's N… _you_ were an officer in the navy?" the cold woman asked, and there was obvious amusement in her expression. In fact, of the four strangers, only the blonde man doesn't seem surprised by this revelation, and Emma realized that he and the other man, _Hook_, must be friends, even if Hook doesn't remember it.

"I _am_ an officer in the navy," Hook replied before motioning at his clothing. "I don't know what you lot are playing at, dressing me up like a pirate, but I will let you know my name is not _Hook_. It's Killian Jones, _Lieutenant_ Killian Jones. And you can be sure that you will all be punished to the highest extent of the law when my brother and the crew catch up to us. Until then, the lady is under my protection and you are all in my custody."

Emma thought they were awfully big words, considering that Hoo… no, _Killian_, looked about as good as she felt, and she really, really wanted to throw up, but she also felt a little ball of warmth. No one had ever tried to protect her before, and she thought it awfully sweet that this man was doing it now. But she didn't know how she got to be here, but knowing herself, she can guess _why_ she's there.

"Look guys," she spoke up, struggling to her feet. She steps away from the black haired woman's reach, as she tries to steady her and instead uses Killian's arm. "I don't know what I stole from you, but whatever it is, just let me know and I'll give it back. Then we can all go our separate ways, no harm no foul."

Killian shot a look down at her.

"You're a _thief_?" he demanded incredulously, obviously not prepared for that bombshell. Emma shrugged unapologetically.

"We all do what we must to survive," she said, and grinned up into his pretty blue eyes, feeling amused as she watched him struggle between the fact that thievery was obviously against his soldierly code of honour and the fact that Emma appeared to be a pretty damsel in distress he would obviously enjoy saving.

"Bloody hell," he muttered at last.

RECOVER

Under other circumstances, Snow would have found the utterly flabbergasted look on Hook's face amusing. He was staring at Emma with a look that was both utterly lost and disgruntled. Whoever Hook as the infamous captain, it was obviously very different from who he was as the straight-laced Lieutenant staring at her daughter now.

"Maybe we should all sit down," Snow suggested, motioning to the fire. "You didn't steal anything from us, Emma, and we didn't kidnap you Hook… sorry, Killian. Actually, you came with us willingly. We needed a way to get to this island, and you offered your ship."

"I don't have a ship," Hook replied, managing to drag his eyes from Emma to look at Snow in confusion. "I'm just a Lieutenant. The _Jewel_ is the king's ship, under the command of my elder brother. Did Liam come with us as well?"

Snow doesn't know how to respond to that, as she hadn't realized Hook even _had_ a brother. It was Charming who stepped up to respond to the pirate, no the _naval officer's_ (and wasn't that just the weirdest thing), inquiry.

"That's a long story, Killian," he said. "I'm afraid I don't know all the details, as you don't like to talk about what happened to your brother, but I know enough. You, _both_ of you, are under a spell right now, though. A spell that turned back the clock on you. As things stand now, your brother is dead, H – Killian. He has been for a long time."

"No," Hook responded, shaking his head in denial. "That's not possible. Liam is my Captain. He's all I have. If I lost him… _I_ would be lost as well."

Charming just stared at the other man, and Hook looked down at what he had acknowledged as pirate's clothes. Snow saw his Adam's apple bob, as the pieces began to fall into place. After all, if they hadn't dressed him in the clothes, there is only one assumption that can be drawn.

"No," Hook whispered, looking at the group with wide, horrified eyes. "No. It can't be true. I won't believe it to be true. I wouldn't betray my King like that. I wouldn't betray _Liam_ like that. You're lying. You have to be."

"Of course they are," Emma said, laying her hand on his arm, and looking at the rest of the group with something almost close to disgust. "And they should be ashamed of themselves for it. But think about it, Killian… they said we were under a _spell_. Seriously, magic? Don't you think they could have come up with a better story than _that_. Magic isn't real, you know that."

Hook stared at Emma with blank bemusement, and Snow can't really blame him. His last memories are of being an Lieutenant in a navy for a country that practically _ran_ on magic, and here was Emma, telling him with a serious face that magic isn't real and _duh_, shouldn't he know that?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Emma asked, and then looked at the others, all of whom avoided looking back at her. "What is going on here? Where are we? And how…" Emma stared hard at Snow for a long, long moment. "How the hell did you know my name?"

Snow didn't know how to respond, and an awkward silence descended upon the group. Finally, it was Regina who rolled her eyes and gave the explanation no one else could.

"Magic is very real, Miss Swan. It's how we got here, and it's how we'll get away from here as well. As for how Mary Margaret knows your name, that's simple. You've been living with her for the past several months as our son, my adoptive and your biological, worked to convince you that everyone in our town of Storybrooke was a fairy tale character, and that it was your job to end the curse because you were the saviour born of the true love between Snow White and her precious Prince Charming."

With the names, Regina motioned at Snow and Charming in turn, and Snow considered hitting her again, just as she had on Hook's boat. The Evil Queen has shoved too much impossible knowledge on Emma in too short of a time.

"That's not possible," Emma said, her voice sounding much as Hook's had as he denied his brother's death. "It's not. I was abandoned the side of the road seventeen years ago. Fairy tales aren't real, and even if they were, I wouldn't belong in them. _Fairy tales don't abandon their children_!"

"We had to," Charming interjected, trying desperately to make Emma calm down and understand. "It was a curse, and you were the only one who could save us. We had to send you here, or all hope would be lost for everyone."

"_Everyone_ shouldn't have mattered!" Emma shouted in return. "Parents don't abandon their children… and I wouldn't have abandoned mine," she added in a snarl to Regina. "I wouldn't have done that, not when I know how it feels. I don't know what game you're playing, but it's cruel and twisted, and I'm _leaving_."

"Emma, wait-" Snow began, but Emma has already turned and fled from the group, shoving her way through the trees.

"Well, that didn't go very well," Hook pointed out, and he reached out a hand to stop Snow as she began to follow Emma. "Perhaps you should let her calm down. I don't know where she's from, but it's obvious she's not familiar with magic."

"You don't get it, _Hook_," Neal muttered, shoving past the other man to follow Emma. "This is _Neverland_. It's dangerous. There's poison and wicked creatures, and then there's Pan and his Lost boys. Emma out there alone is an easy target for them."

"I told you, it's _Killian_," Hook replied, releasing Snow's arm. "Lead the way, my lady. If your daughter is indeed in danger, we had best catch up to her. Meeting danger in her state would be disastrous."

"You believe us, then?" Snow asked, looking at Hook hopefully. Hook stared down at her, his face expressionless, but then he sighed.

"I don't know if I believe you about Liam, or about me… I don't particularly wish to think about it. But Emma has your eyes. It's clear that she is your daughter."

Snow smiled and grasped Hook's hand briefly in thanks before taking off after her daughter, the others following close behind.

RECOVER

Emma wasn't sure how long she ran before she finally collapsed against a tree, sobs wracking her body. Her whole life had been spent travelling from home to home, wishing that just once someone might love her, might want to be her parent. And then that beautiful woman and the handsome blonde man claimed they had been her parents, that they had abandoned her out of _necessity_. And didn't that make it hurt so much more? To hear that she had parents that loved her, but just not enough to keep her with them.

"You seem awfully upset."

Emma stood up rapidly, her gaze falling on a young man, no older than seventeen or eighteen, who was watching her from another tree.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma demanded, stooping to pick up a sturdy stick and holding it between them.

"You don't remember me?" the boy replied, and he disappeared, only to reappear right behind Emma. She gave a shriek, and whirled to face him, the stick still in the air. "I guess Baelfire must have accidentally hit you with the spell as well. Isn't that precious?"

"Stay away from me," Emma snarled, shaking the stick threateningly when the boy stepped toward her again.

"Oh, I won't harm you Emma. In fact, I'll even reintroduce myself. Peter Pan, at your service." And the boy gave a mocking bow.

"Peter Pan…?" Emma murmured, thinking of the stories she had read beneath covers in her foster homes by flashlight. Stories of Wendy Darling and boys who never grew up. The Lost Boys, who Emma had so identified with that she had often found herself wishing she could be one of them. "But if you're Peter Pan… they called Killian Hook. That doesn't make sense, though. Hook is so… _Hook_, and Killian isn't."

"Yes, that was unexpected," Pan admitted, as if Emma would have any clue what he meant. "Unpleasantly so. But you? Oh, you are definitely a revelation, Emma. A Lost Girl to your bones, aren't you?"

"You aren't nearly as much of an ass in the books," Emma muttered, but it was a lie. Pan was always an ass, but when he was just a character in a book it seemed charming. Not so much in person.

"Books rarely ever get the story right. You've been separated from your group. That's dangerous here in Neverland. I could let you continue to wander on your own. Chances are you would eventually stumble across something dangerous and end up dead, and that would solve all my problems." Emma gulped at Pan's words; it seemed off, that such a young, attractive boy could seem so threatening. "But there's no fun in that. So, I suppose I'll let you return to camp with me. You can even see Henry."

"Henry?" Emma asked, and the words cause Pan to laugh in delight. It was a pleasant sound with such unpleasant undertones.

"Oh, this is perfect. Two birds, one stone. The saviour and the key to having my newest lost boy, all wrapped up in one neat little package."

"I don't think I want to come with you," Emma said, backing away from Peter slowly. "First of all, you think you're Peter Pan. And that's crazy… because if you're Peter Pan, then that means I really _am_ the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and I'm really not princess material. But beyond that, you want to manipulate me, and to use me to manipulate this Henry. And I _really_ don't like that."

"You don't really get a choice, Emma. This is Neverland, and Neverland is _my_ land," Pan responds, and there is dark light in him that raised Emma's hackles.

"Screw that," Emma shot back, and she swung the branch, managing to hit Pan across the head and send him tumbling. Years of finely honed flight instinct send Emma running off, but she hears Pan's laughter follow behind her.

"Very nice, Emma! I have always loved a good game of hide and seek. Let's play!"

**AN: And there's chapter 1. I tried to keep it as in character as possible, especially in regards to Neal. I didn't want him to seem like the bad guy, but Pan is a manipulative little bastard who knows the right strings to pull. Let me know what you thought, and the next chapter will be up in a week or so. **


	2. Take those sad eyes dry those tears

**AN: Thanks for the great response to the first chapter. As promised, here is the next. We get some Lieutenant Duckling in here. And Pan is a little shit, so he screws things up. As usual. Please enjoy:**

**Two. Take those sad eyes dry those tears**

Those dark clouds can't hold much rain  
After it falls their gonna blow away  
Take those sad eyes, dry those tears  
Baby I'm right here yeah I'm right here

Killian found that he quite enjoyed the company of Charming and Snow, but that Regina made him uneasy and Neal… well, Neal simply spent most of his time glaring daggers at him.

At first, he found this confusing. After all, he had just met the man, had never done anything to him. Then the thinly veiled comments and snide remarks begin to paint a picture, a picture that put Killian in a very nasty light.

It wasn't not Killian Jones, Lieutenant that Neal had a problem with, but rather Captain Hook, pirate.

And it confused Killian, to have to think of himself as two people – who he knew himself to be, and who these people knew him as. And while he got along well with the prince and princess, can even detect a certain air of camaraderie with the prince that obviously remains from before his memory loss, Killian could tell that there is some uneasiness there toward him. Killian didn't think he wanted to know what he had done, who he had become, to make everyone so wary around him.

But he ignored Neal's side eye, and the fact that Regina laughed every time she looked at him, because he knew they needed to find Emma. Killian wasn't sure why he was so sure of this – the girl was a self-professed thief, and Killian is (or at least _was_) an officer in His Majesty's Navy. He should not feel any kinship to the girl… but she had looked so lost, and Killian knew what that was like. His whole life, he had had only Liam, and now that his brother was gone as well… yes, Killian could identify with Emma Swan very well.

It was when they set up camp that night, all of them having to admit that they would not be finding Emma until the morrow, that he heard the crying. Dozens of children, it seemed, all of them crying out, yearning for something. Killian tried to roll over, to fall asleep as his companions had, but then he caught a familiar voice amongst those cries.

Emma.

He rolled out of the odd bag Charming had handed him to sleep in; the aptly named sleeping bag. He glanced at his companions, but they were all asleep, seemingly unable to hear the cries, to hear _Emma_. Hook grabbed a stick from the fire, holding it up to light his way, and he searched the ground until he found the trail Emma left behind, which they had been following all day. It was the one remnant Killian has from his father, the only good memory in a lifetime of heartbreak that the man had left as his legacy, that he had taught his young sons to track and to track well. It had been the one thing Killian had ever managed to beat Liam at. It was why he was always the navigator on their journeys, because Killian was just the slightest bit better at finding and following the paths needed, whether they be left behind by prey or found above in the stars.

Emma's path was obvious; the girl obviously didn't know how to hide her tracks. Either that, or she hadn't bothered, not really wanting to be separated from the group permanently. Hook reached a clearing where there were signs of some sort of struggle; a stick tossed aside with traces of blood on its length, and broken branches forming a trail further into the jungle. Killian felt uneasy at the signs of struggle, and he thought about turning back and at the very least getting Charming, but that would lose time. It had taken him a good twenty minutes to get this far, and if Emma truly was in danger as he suspected, that twenty minutes of backtracking could mean her life. Making the choice, Killian pushed onward.

At first, he feared whatever had sent Emma fleeing would have followed Emma's trail as easily as Killian had. Then came the moment when she must have realized how obvious her trail was, because the signs became far more subtle, things only a trained tracker would notice, and even then only if they knew where to look. There was a broken branch there, a strand of pale hair left on a tree there. Killian wanted to smile at this; the lass was smart, and she _did_ know how to hide.

That also meant she had wanted the group to find her earlier. She had stormed off because she was overwhelmed, but she hadn't been stupid. The path finally led to a hollowed out tree trunk, and when Killian looked within he saw Emma, who had apparently fallen asleep there, exhausted by the events of the day.

"Emma," he whispered, shaking her shoulder. When her only response was a low mutter and to curl into herself, he shook her a little harder and spoke a little louder. "Come on Emma, wake up. It's not safe to sleep here."

Emma blinked bleary eyes and looked up at him. Killian felt his breath catch as he met those green eyes, and he wondered what it would feel like, to just swoop down and claim her slightly parted lips.

_Tastes like heaven_.

Killian blinked, caught off guard by the thought. He didn't know where it had come from, but he his gut told him that the words were true. Kissing Emma Swan would taste like heaven, and even the inevitable fall back to Earth afterward wouldn't be able to ruin the moment.

"Killian?" Emma asked, her voice hoarse with sleep. "Are the others with you?"

"No, just me, lass. I heard the crying, and once I picked up your trail I didn't want to lose time, to lose you. Let's get you out of there. There's safety in numbers, and the numbers reside back at camp."

"I don't want to go back there, Killian," Emma whispered, even as she grabbed his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She was wobbly at first, and he grasped her arms, allowing her to regain her balance. But once she was sturdy, she didn't release her hold on him, and he was happy to just stand there, the warmth of contact reaching him even through his thick leather coat.

"Why not?" Killian asked, hating that he would ruin the moment, but knowing that standing there like a pair of fools wasn't a good idea. "They're good people, your parents."

"That's just it," Emma responded, releasing her grip and breaking the contact between them. "My parents. The parents I've wished for ever since I was a little girl. And they abandoned me, Killian. I'm not sure what's worse: thinking that my parents didn't want me, or knowing that they did, but that they abandoned me anyway because there was something more important."

"It was for the good of their realm-"

"Screw the good of their realm!" Emma yelled, turning her back to Killian and pacing away several feet, her fingers running through her hair. "I was found on the side of the road. It was mere luck that I didn't _die_ there, Killian. They took an infant and sent it into the unknown on the off chance that someday it might return and save them. They didn't know where I would end up. They didn't know who I would end up with. Yet they still did it! Who _does_ that?"

"The desperate," Killian replied, and Emma paused in her pacing to look over her shoulder at him. There were tears sparkling in her eyes, and Killian took several quick steps so that he could turn her towards him and hold her hands with his own. "I'm not saying it was the right choice, lass, or that it was the wrong choice. But I've learned enough about those two today to know that there is no way, no possible way, they would have abandoned you if they hadn't truly believed with every fibre of their being that there was another way. They thought it was their only option – that it was your only chance at a good life. Be angry. That's your right. But don't turn your back on them in that anger. Decisions made out of that emotion are so often the ones we regret most once the anger fades."

"Have you ever made a decision in anger?" Emma asked. "One that you regret?"

"Well, I apparently became a pirate," Killian released her hands and motioned at his outfit. "I have a feeling that particular choice wasn't made with a clear head."

"I dunno," Emma responded, looking him up and down critically. Her lips quirked in the smallest of smiles. "I think it suits you. The bad-boy pirate with nothing to lose. I bet the girls were all putty in your hands."

"I wouldn't know as I have no memory of that time in my life," Killian replied, but he couldn't help but stand a little taller, feel a little cockier, that Emma obviously found him attractive. "So… a thief?"

Emma smirked at him and brushed her hair over her shoulder, revealing the creamy skin left bare by her top to Killian's hungry gaze.

"What can I say? If you have a talent, you utilize it. I learned how to hotwire cars off the internet, and no one ever expects a sweet little blonde is a shoplifter."

"Why?" Killian asked, and he found himself genuinely curious about what drove this girl. Never before had he cared about a thief's reasoning, always feeling that a thief was a thief and deserved no pity. But Emma was different. There was something so… so… beautifully broken about her, and Killian knew that if he could just put the pieces together, if he could just figure her out, then maybe he could mend her. Maybe he could put the broken pieces of Emma Swan back together and she could be simply beautiful again. Beautiful and happy. "Why a thief?"

"What else could I do? I ran away from my last foster home. I have no way of paying for college, and no one wants to hire a homeless teenager. Thievery is really the only option left to me. I can't go back into the system, and at this point no one would want me anyway. Another year and I'm away from the jurisdiction of the state. Even foster homes want the young ones. They cause less trouble."

"A trouble maker, were you?" Killian asked, flirting with the girl despite himself. She was rather like a flame, he thought, and he was the moth caught up in it.

"Of the very best kind," Emma replied, leaning into him, and he found himself reaching out to push some of her hair behind her ear. Emma let him, leaning her cheek slightly into his touch and smiling up at him.

"Isn't this precious?" a young voice interrupted the moment, and Killian whirled around, pulling out his sword and putting himself between Emma and the intruder. It was a young boy, somewhere between the age of sixteen and eighteen, but the look on his face was anything but boyish. It was the face of a scoundrel, smug and certain of victory.

"Pan," Emma muttered, and Killian shot her a quick glance. "I ran into him earlier. He wants to use me against this kid named Henry. He says I'm Henry's mother."

"From what I understand, you are," Killian responded, and Emma shot him a curious look. "I've spent the day with the group, remember Love? I managed to get some information out of them."

"I wouldn't have abandoned my kid, Killian," Emma replied, and the defiant look in her eyes made Killian's heart break, because she believed in those words wholeheartedly. As far as she was concerned, she would never have abandoned her child to the unknown as she had been abandoned, and it made Killian's chest ache as he wondered what had happened to this beautiful, golden girl to change her mind so greatly. To make her give up her child, when everything in her would have rebelled against the thought.

"I have no answers for you lass. When we get back to camp, you can ask your questions. Find out what happened."

"That won't be happening," Pan interjected. "You see, Emma will be coming with me."

"Not bloody likely," Killian muttered darkly. "Back off, demon. Before I gut you."

"Oh Killian, Killian, Killian," Pan sighed, disappearing and reappearing right next to the duo. Killian whirled around, moving Emma with him so he was still between her and Pan. "I'd forgotten how idealistic you were once. So young and naïve… of course, that was until your brother died retrieving a poison for your corrupt king. After that you became _very_ willing to do business with me. We had a good working relationship once, in fact."

"You lie," Killian growled, but he knew his voice lacked true conviction. He didn't _know_ himself here, the man Pan and the others spoke of, the man who had become a pirate. "Even should my king order us retrieve poison, Liam would never agree to it."

"That's very true," the boy agreed. "Of course, Liam was told it was a medicinal plant. I told you otherwise, and while you believed me, he didn't. He died trying to prove his point. It was all very sad, really. I told you he couldn't leave Neverland. You should have listened."

"We're not listening to this anymore!" Emma snarled, and her hand came from behind Killian to grasp the hilt of the sword, and then their positions were reversed, with Emma standing between Killian and Pan with a regal look on her face, like a sort of avenging angel. "You don't know anything about us, and we aren't those people you're talking about. Not yet. We don't have to be guided by their choices, because _we_ haven't made them."

"That's very true, Emma," Pan agreed. "But still, you can't change the past… or perhaps it's the future for you. You _will_ give up Henry, just as Killian there _will _become Captain Hook. Unless, of course, you choose a different path."

Killian felt Emma stiffen in front of him, and he reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. He felt her relax slightly under his touch, but her muscles were still stiff. She was watching Pan with wary but attentive eyes and Killian couldn't really blame her. In spite of all he had been told about Pan, he was interested in what the boy had to say himself.

"This is Neverland!" Pan waved his hand around. "Here, time never moves. You can be as you are forever. Young, innocent of the crimes you'll commit in your futures… _together_." Pan watched them with that calculated expression, yet his words were still so tempting. "You can be with your son, Emma, but never have to know the pain of abandoning him. You can lead your life as the man of honor, Killian, protecting Emma and her boy and never have to know the heartbreak you'll face. You'll never have to live, knowing you became everything your brother once fought against."

"Staying here won't change anything," Emma responded, her grip on the sword tightening. "It won't matter that we didn't live those things, we'll still know we were _capable_ of them."

"That's the beauty of Neverland, Emma. Eventually, all those bad memories will disappear. And all you're left with are the good, the ones you _want_."

Emma looked at Killian, and he could see the yearning in her eyes. He could see the desire she had to take Pan's offer, to forget everything they had been told, and to simply _be_. Killian looked into her eyes, and he could feel that same yearning within himself. This girl? She could be his forever. They could be happy, remake their lives as they wished to. They would never have to say good-bye to each other, they would never be abandoned again.

All they had to do was take Pan's offer, and they could be _happy_.

It was such a tempting offer.

RECOVER

Emma wanted to grasp at the offer. She could feel her grip on the sword wavering, because what Pan was suggesting was so, so _tempting_. She had heard so much of her future, and none of it had sounded _good_.

Why would she want to willingly go back to that? Back to a life where she had abandoned her son and had to face the parents who had abandoned _her_ everyday. On top of that, she could have Killian, the handsome Lieutentant-slash-future-pirate who made her smile and seemed to simply understand her, even though they had chosen such different paths in life. She could love him, she knew that. She could fall in love with him, and he could be her family.

"I think I could be happy with you," she whispered, looking up into Killian's too blue eyes that made her think of the pictures she had seen of beaches in the Caribbean. "We could be happy together."

"We could," Killian agreed, his gaze not wavering from hers. "I feel like I've known you my whole life, Emma." He bent down, his fingers coming up to run along her cheek and cradle her face, as his lips paused just millimetres away from hers, so close she could feel their breath mingling. "I feel like I've known you my whole life, which is why I can't let you do this."

Once more the sword was in Killian's hand, and he swung around, intent on skewering it through Pan, to put an end to his tempting offers and smug satisfaction.

Only, Pan wasn't there. Killian cursed and spun, intent on hunting the boy down. His momentum brought his side into contact with Pan's dagger, when the boy reappeared in the perfect position right behind him.

"Killian!" Emma shouted as the sailor gaped at Pan. Pan released his hold on the knife and let the other man slide to his knees while Emma fell on hers next to him. "It's okay, Killian. You'll be okay. I… I took a first aid course once, in high school. We just need to apply pressure, and then the others will come and you'll be okay. I promise."

"Emma," Killian responded, his voice rasping. He knew the dagger hadn't been any ordinary dagger, it had weakened him far too quickly for that. It had obviously been poisoned. "Emma, get away from here." His hand groped blindly for the sword, he was intent on getting back to his feet, making sure Emma got away. "Run, Emma."

"Not happening, _Lieutenant_," Pan sneered, grasping Emma's arm in steely grip that was surprisingly strong for his slender build. "Emma here is coming with me. You really should have listened to me, Killian. Taken my offer. Now, you're dead. Whether of blood loss or poison… well, only time will tell that."

Killian growled weakly, his hand finally finding the sword and he used it to lever himself to his feet, his glare on Pan.

"Let her go, you demon!" he hissed, swinging the sword weakly, but Pan easily avoided it, and the momentum brought Killian to his knee again.

"You bastard!" Emma screamed at Pan. "Let me go! Let me save him!"

"Oh, Emma, haven't you realized yet? On this island, all you are is a Lost Girl. _You_ won't be saving anybody."

Pan waved his hand over Emma's face, and all she was aware of was a green glow and odd warmth rushing through her as she fainted into Pan's arms. In her last moments of awareness, she heard Killian yelling her name, and her fingers reached, as if to find him, but then there was darkness.

RECOVER

Killian tried to follow the pair at first, but he had lost too much blood and couldn't manage more than two or three steps before his legs gave out.

"Emma," he murmured, and he knew that he had lost far too much blood, because he could swear that she was there again, her blonde hair gleaming and the faintest smirk on her lips, even though he knew Pan had taken her. "Emma."

"Hook?" he heard the call, but it seemed distant. Killian felt as if he were floating, and the spectre of Emma was all that was keeping him from simply drifting away.

"Hook? Emma?" he heard another voice calling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recognized the voices as belonging to Snow White and Charming, but he was too focused on the Emma-spectre and staying awake that he couldn't call back.

"Hook, there you – crap, guys! I found Hook. He's in bad condition!"

Hands came to rest on his shoulders, and Killian felt himself being pushed back to lie on the ground. Looking up, he saw that his companion was Neal, and the stark worry on his face made Killian realize that his condition was bad. Very, very bad. Killian opened his mouth a few times, no sound coming out. He wanted to apologize to this man, for whatever it was he had done, but he couldn't seem to form the words.

Instead, he just continued to murmur, "Emma. Emma. Emma."

"C'mon, Hook. Stay with me, Mate," Charming muttered, joining Neal at his side, and Killian could see the worry on his face, as well as the those of the two Queens who had joined them as well.

Killian had never really contemplated his death before. It was a mistress that all sailors courted, whether it be storms or the deceptive magical creatures that called the ocean their home, but he had never really contemplated his actual end. Facing it now, he was terrified. But more than death, he was terrified for Emma. Emma who had been abandoned by everyone else, and was soon to be abandoned by him as well.

"Pan," he croaked, grasping Snow's hands as she applied pressure to the wound in his side.

"Don't talk," Snow replied. "Just rest. We'll get you through this, Hook. I promise."

"Pan," he said again, shaking his head at her attempts to hush him. "Emma. Has her."

"Pan has Emma?" Neal asked, and Killian managed to weakly nod his head.

"Use her. Hurt her son. Get her back."

"We will, Hook," Charming assured him. "But first, we need to keep you alive."

"Emma!" Killian argued, because he was already dead, but Emma was still alive and strong and broken, and he might not get the chance to fix her now, but her parents _could_.

"We'll do both," Neal said, looking at Charming with a determined expression before turning his eyes to Regina. "Can't you heal this?"

"It's been tainted with dream shade. I can't do anything with the poison in his system." The dark queen replied, and Killian almost swore there was something close to regret in her eyes. Perhaps there was a soft spot to the woman after all; it made Killian feel almost guilty for avoiding her.

"Hold on, Hook," Charming said again. "We need water from that fountain. Now."

"I'll go," Neal responded immediately, his hatred for the pirate pushed aside now that the man was dying. "Don't die while I'm gone, Hook."

"Killian…" he breathed out softly, not wanting his last moments on earth to be spent known as _Hook_.

"Killian," Neal agreed with a nod. "Hold on."

Killian gave another gasp as he felt Snow push harder on his wound, and the sharp jab of pain was enough to finally send him into soothing, blessed darkness.

RECOVER

Henry watched the Lost Boys dance wildly around the fire. He had given into once, for a brief moment or two. It had been almost a relief, to simply lose himself for a little while.

But then reality had returned, and the relief hadn't been worth the guilt he had felt when he'd realized he'd given up hope, for however short a time, that his family would come for him.

He hadn't danced since.

Tonight was wilder, though. When he'd asked Felix about it, the blonde had simply said that Pan expected to score a large victory, and that the boys were celebrating. The words had filled Henry with a sense of foreboding he hadn't quite understood.

When Peter came into the clearing, dragging a struggling girl behind him, Henry finally did understand.

It was Emma, only not. She looked… _younger_ somehow, as if years of walls and hurt had been washed away. Tear tracks ran down her face, and tears glittered angrily in her green eyes, but she still looked more care free than Henry had ever known her to be.

"You killed him!" she yelled as Pan tossed her to her knees next to the fire. "You bastard!"

"You should be thanking me. He may be honorable and charming now, but someday all he'll be is an alcoholic pirate with one hand. I saved him the pain of having to relive those days. And I've returned you to your son. Isn't that all that should matter?"

Emma looked around, and her eyes glanced over Henry, but there was no recognition, and it was like a punch right to Henry's gut.

"What did you do to her?" Henry asked, and he wanted to sound angry, but all he sounded was small and scared.

"I didn't do anything. It was your father that's responsible. Wanting to show your mother who Hook really was, only to lose her to him all over again. Of course, this time there wasn't even a competition. I doubt Emma even looked twice at her lost love." Pan smirked smugly at Emma who glared at him. "She doesn't remember you, Henry. She's no more your mother than I am."

"You're Henry?" Emma asked, looking at him through her tears, and Henry would have felt lost and terrified, only he swore that, in the moment Emma _really_ looked at him, there was a glint of recognition. He felt his lips quirk in a smile, and saw Emma's quirk right back. "You have my smile."

Pan glared between the two, this meeting obviously not working as he'd wanted it to.

"Take her to the cages!" he growled at Felix. "Let her muse on her lost pirate and we'll see if she has any smiles left."

At the words, Emma's face morphed into a look of pure loathing, and she leapt for Pan, but he hit her in the face with a dose of poppy dust, sending her to the ground unconscious.

"Emma!" Henry yelled, reaching for her as Felix and another lost boy began to drag her away, but Pan got in between them, holding him back. Henry stopped his struggles to glare at the older boy. "We'll find each other. My family _always_ finds each other."

"Not this time, Laddie," Pan smirked in return. "Down a saviour and a pirate? The odds are looking like they're very much against them. Now, I need you to forget this. Can't give you hope and all."

Henry tried to struggle free, but another dose of poppy dust put him down, and Pan was left with an unconscious boy and a ruined plan.

**AN: And there it is. Like I said, Pan is a little shit (whom I can't help but love, which is why he plays such a prominent role in this). And as you can see, flashes of Hook and older!Emma are leaking into their younger selves. Next chapter, Emma will be mad. It will be great. It will also be the story's conclusion. I have just over 3000 words written for it, so it should be completed on schedule for next weekend. Also, I write my last exam tomorrow (hopefully ever) – huzzah! That will give me around three weeks to just write and write (hopefully) before I start my adult life, complete with an actual job.**

**Let me know what you think.**


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